In my opinion, 14-year-old Nadia Ilse has always been a beautiful girl. But she didn't feel beautiful until recently, when the Little Baby Face Foundation paid for plastic surgery to pin back her protruding ears. I guess it would be hard to feel beautiful after years of being called "Dumbo" by kids at school. Apparently Nadia started begging for an operation way back in the first grade, when the "relentless bullying" began.
I don't blame her for wanting surgery, and, sadly, I think her fears that the bullying would "never stop" unless she had the surgery were valid. As a mom, I also understand why her mother contacted the non-profit Little Baby Face -- watching your kid suffer for years must be horrible. So on the one hand, I'm glad LBF stepped up and paid for the otoplasy. On the other hand, I'm not sure how I feel about the additional rhinoplasty (nose job) and mentoplasty (chin job).
The thing is, there was nothing "wrong" with Nadia's nose or chin. There was nothing "wrong" with her ears, either, except that they made her an easy target for cruel kids. In an ideal situation, Nadia would have learned how to love herself exactly the way she was, ears and all -- in your face, bullies. This was not an ideal situation, however (if ideal situations even exist). So the ear surgery ... okay, fine. (The majority of kids who receive free corrective surgery from Little Baby Face have severe facial deformities such as cleft palates, by the way.) But why "fix" features that weren't even causing problems? What kind of message does that send ... to Nadia?
I guess the most important thing is that Nadia is finally confident in her appearance: "I look beautiful, this is exactly what I wanted, I love it," she said. And hopefully the bullying will end now.
Being bullies, however, they might just find something else about Nadia to pick on, like the color of her nail polish or her clothes or the way she chews her food. Perfection doesn't protect anyone from bullying. Only self-esteem can do that.
Would you get your teen plastic surgery for an issue like this one?
Image via CNN
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Comments 82
I have several people in my family that have the "dumbo" ears. My brother, now 17, had the surgery to get his ears pinned back, when he was 12, due to the fact that he was being made fun of in school for having ears that prodrude so much. He was so happy and was much better in school afterwards. I completely agree with the mother's decision in regards to her daughter. My son's ears stick out also and I plan on getting him the surgery if he does not grow into them.
I was teased for many years about my ears, boobs, being to skinny, and not being pretty. It was hard growing up, and even now I still struggle with my insecurities; am I good enough, pretty enough? I used to get depressed daily, to the point of just laying on the floor crying. It's gotten better, but the emotional scarring is still there.
I have two kids now, and if my daughter wanted this done; no I wouldn't think she needed it, I'd beg her to wait. But I would also try and support her, especially if she's being bullied. It's sad that so many kids feel the need to bully, and then you wonder what kind of home they live in; are the parent oblivious? Are the not around? I believe that a child who bullies is a reflection of their parents. I feel sorry for any child who feels they have to change how the look in a drastic way to keep from being hurt.
I understand her ears being done (though someone should not have to have their ears done in th first place because people are so mean, the world should be different) but her chin and nose, I am sure she was not made fun of for those... I think she looked fine before though.
This just makes me so sad. I dropped out of highschool in grade 11 because I couldn't handle how insecure I felt being over weight in a jungle of judgemental awful people both male and female. The funniest thing is the person who made me feel more insecure then anyone was a girl who was larger then me the entire 11 years I went to school with her. I tried going to another highschool a few weeks after dropping out but I couldn't shake the insecurities from the old school and being in a place where I didn't know anyone just made them worse. When I have a daughter I will do everything I can to build her selfesteem, and if it requires some drastic measures then so be it, however I fully believe that breast enhancment and reduction should be off limits. I had large breasts in the last years of elemantry school and so did my classmate and some younger girls noticed one day and started singing to us "do your boobs hang low to they wabble to a throw can you tie them in a knot can you tie them in a bow" it was brutal. However once I got my first real bra I loved my breasts and I love them even more now as an adult and I would be very upset had my mom been one to jump on the reduction I wanted so badly in those first years.
I really don't appreciate you choosing to use the word "ugly" to title this article. This little girl has obviously been through enough bullying in her real life, I certainly think that an ADULT continuing to berate her online *is the last thing she needs. You should be ashamed of yourself.
My cousin was born with ears that made this girl's original ears look small. He came home from school one time and asked my aunt why God made his ears so much bigger than everyone elses and she found a doctor to correct them with in the month. I agree having the ears pinned back is like getting brases, you can't cover it with long hair (the ears aren't actually big but rather they lack the natural pinning that most people's ears have.) Self esteem is priceless and there are some things you do need to fix. I'm not some one who would go get my teen a boob job but if she had one A cup and one C cup you better believe I would get that fixed.